


The Words of the Prophets Are Written on the Subway Walls / Że proroków odtąd księgą najprawdziwszą będzie mur...!

by Marta_Ayanami



Series: 'Fools,' said I, "You do not know" [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Multi, Some headcanon offscreen stuff :), the reverse of side of "Songs that Voices Never Share" ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23309917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marta_Ayanami/pseuds/Marta_Ayanami
Summary: "Shiro!"Wasn't he calling him loud enough? Maybe everyone else was calling louder, yeah, he thought he could hear that. Maybe everyone else could, in this weirdoastralspace, see Shiro better, still.Some sharpshooter he was._______Polish title of the fic is from Sylwek Szweda's translation of the Simon and Garfunkel's song "Sound of Silence".. I doubt he even knows this website exists (I'm pretty sure he doesn't), but still. I'm a translator, I respect translations.
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Kuron & Lance (Voltron), Lance & Black Lion (Voltron), Lance & Blue Lion (Voltron), Lance & Lance's Family (Voltron), Lance & Red Lion (Voltron), Lance & Shiro (Voltron), Lance & Voltron Family, Lance/Allura (ditto as above), Lance/Keith Lance's sliiight unrequited crush headcanish that maybe already passed
Series: 'Fools,' said I, "You do not know" [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676332
Kudos: 3





	The Words of the Prophets Are Written on the Subway Walls / Że proroków odtąd księgą najprawdziwszą będzie mur...!

_Ugh, what a freaky space. Plane. Dimension. Something._

So dark. Pitch-black, but... no, it wasn't pitch dark. There were lights, familiar, immediately, so close. Their lights, their lions' lights... their lights. A comfort and familiarity in this utter darkness of astral mumbo jumbo. Whew.

He could see them, now. Pidge's light circe, Hunk's, Allura's, and under his own feet, his own, moving with him. Funny, almost, really. Here, he was himself, more than ever. And Pidge felt more Pidge than ever, and also Hunk, same, and Allura - wow, this was breathtaking.

Allura was soooo much herself, and it felt so wonderful, so close, so intimate, that Lance could barely bear it. Pidge and Hunk, too, but he's never been in love with his family, so the intimacy didn't frighten or intimidate Lance there.

Not that Allura wasn't family, of course she was, but... but if she was, than he was being weird. Or maybe she wasn't?

Damn!

Speaking of family, there was a suspicious lack of one 'uncle.' Who should be there, stat, why was he suddenly taking his sweet time coming?? That wasn't like the great idol superhero champion of all in all universes at all!

"Shiro!"

Wasn't he calling him loud enough? Maybe everyone else was calling louder, yeah, he thought he could hear that. Maybe everyone else could, in this weirdoastralspace, see Shiro better, still.

Some sharpshooter he was.

Oh! Now they're talking! That is, suddenly, Shiro's light's circle appeared, at last! Lance focused on it, still calling. Shiro's circle was there, but... no Shiro....? Just the purple circle? What, did the guy suddenly take a soul nap or what?!

Irritated (no, worried), Lance kept calling:

"Shiro!"

He thought he felt a commotion, far away. A fight? No, not a fight. A shadow? A witch? A lion? Er, that sounded like Narnia. Complete nonsense in some of his thoughts, deep down, somewhere outside him, but in someone who was dear, but, far away. No... Something more desperate. And it was barely a feeling. Just a sharpshooter instict, perhaps. And it wasn't Lance, but someone Lance knew, far away, but couldn't see, or hear, so Lance decided to ignore the feeling, as he had a feeling some strange grief would come with it, and Lance didn't welcome any grief now, who would? Who would???? No one sane, for sure. So it had to be ignored. As it was... too far and maybe... not even there. Everyone who mattered, after all, was here, right? Whole family. Well, almost whole, but--

No, Lance told himself. While everyone, himself included (not Keith, because Keith was elsewhere right now, and couldn't hear them in this weirdo space) kept calling Shirogane. Shiro...

No, what commotion could be there? _Right now, my insticts are wrong. All wrong. And Shiro isn't here, still. If I were Keith, Shiro would be here, stat._

Lance thought. Unvoiced thought, unvoiced even to himself, probably, deep, deep in subconscious of the spirit. Here, in this space, things could be seen much deeper down. Or not seen, as Lance would rather not look that deep, or he'd make a fool of himself before Allura and before Keith... (And while Keith wasn't here, Allura was. Damn, he wasn't going to blush in weirdo quintessence space in front of Red, Blue, Allura, little Pidge, and everyone!)

Hey, was somebody bitten? Now that was a strange thought. Not throat, so not an enemy, but... arm...? To try to cut free...??? That... was another strange thought, and Lance shove that thought down. Ignored it. Erased it. Because it made no sense. Black wouldn't bite Shiro's arm for no reason.

Wait, Shiro?? Where was Shiro??? Everybody was still calling!

"Shiro!!!"

Finally, Shiro began to appear, in Shiro's own circle. And everybody began to disappear. Lance knew he'd soon, too. But then, suddenly, the man said,

"Listen--"

Lance wanted to say that sure, he's all ears. But... why could he barely see Shiro? Everybody else, he could see saw clear.

And wow. Shiro was soooo Shiro right now, it made Lance want to cry, and he couldn't understand why. Damn. If Keith was here... well, if Keith was clear, Keith would cry, Lance's instincts suddenly told Lance that with all the certainty.

Pfeh, his instincts were probably lying in this weirdo space.

He wanted to say he was listening. But apparently Shiro was in too much of a hurry to wait for Lance. Geez...

Shiro began saying something. Lance tried to focus. Something about... about... uhm... nah... he misread it... (He couldn't really hear Shiro's words anymore, but he could feel them, clearly. But those words made no sense in anything that was humanly possible, so he KNEW (sure...) that he must've misread (missfelt?) those words, and then...

Then...

Then there was later. No longer in that space.

Lance wanted to cry. He didn't.

Because he felt grief, he knew he felt grief, but he didn't know why, and so, he turned the missfelt certainly, missfelt grief, into utter confusion. There, that was better. That was bearable.

Keith would've cried.. nah, Keith would've heard what there was to hear and wouldn't be confused. But... what was there to be heard???

 _I'll ask Shiro,_ Lance decided. He would've to. He didn't want to feel aggrieved for no good reason. Shiro was here, after all, Shiro felt like Shiro, even if much less like Shiro than in the astral thing, but then again, wasn't the same even of Lance himself, or Pidge, or Hunk, or Allura?

Yes, but, no.

Still, he'd just ask Shiro!

**********

"I don't remember," Shiro said.

And the confusion (alchemised feeling in Lance, by Lance, really, because the alternative was just _stupid_ and _unbearable_ and would've broken Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Coran... and Keith most of all.... the confusion continued. )

But.. confusion wasn't too bad, right?

Maybe Lance was just a fool. Surely everything was alright with Shiro. If something wasn't alright with Shiro, Keith would know, with Keith's love for Shiro. Allura would know, with her magic. Coran would know, with his knowing all kinds of things. Pidge would know, cuz she worked on Shiro's arm and was smart. Hunk would know, cuz... Hunk knew people. Or something.

Keith would know, because Shiro was Shiro.

Shiro would know, and would say.

************

"Like I'm not myself."

The confusion ebbed.

Lance tried to convince Shiro that Shiro was just tired, and waited for the ~~grief~~ confusion to ebb away, to release relief and knowledge that nothing was wrong, or that something HAD BEEN WRONG, but now that Shiro acknowledged it, all was right with the world again.

He'd tell Keith later, surely, that is, Shiro would, seeing as he told even Lance. And then, Keith would fix Shiro, because Shiro was Shiro, and Lance's instincts were wrong. Shiro was Shiro, just slightly broken somewhere maybe, and Lance wasn't good at fixing people.

That'd be Keith's thing, or Hunk's, or Allura's, or Pidge's, but not his. Veronica's, maybe, but not his.

Shiro looked so worried. And suddenly, so dependant on Lance.

So Lance told him not to worry. The headaches would go away.

He wanted to tell Shiro to tell Keith when Keith came back, but that would surely someday happen anyway, so there was no need to rush it. No need.

And besides, it was a good feeling. To be relied on by Shiro.

 _Let me keep this feeling for a moment longer,_ Lance thought, strangely touched and nostalgic, _before I give it back to Keith, where it belongs, seeing as Keith's the great hero's little brother. Just for a moment longer. Just for myself. That I, too, can matter, for a moment, in this family._

_So I won't tell Allura today, or Pidge, or Hunk, or Coran... certainly won't tell Keith... some other day, I'll._

_Because this feels good. If terrifying. Later I'll._

Having made his decision, he now watched Shiro's back, whenever he could. That was his responisibility now. Perhaps slightly stolen... no, borrowed... but still.

They would manage. Everything was alright. Well, that is, if everything was alright, right now, than that meant he could be trusted.

And if Lance could be trusted, by the team, the family, than that was worth anything.

With that feeling, he tried to take care of Shiro's worries, as best as he could, for now. That'd... strenghten his bond, with Shiro, and with Keith, and with everyone, if this was all real, he felt. It was a good feeling. Why should he forsake it to unnecessarily worry everyone? Some instincts could lie. Lance's own certainly could, once in a blue moon. There was no grief, because there was no reason for it. Only the good feeling of being trusted, and some ~~unprocessed uncovered subconscious grief not accepted not realised not let in to conscious thought~~ slight confusion.

But Shiro trusted him, trusted Lance, and that was worth anything!

They'd be alright, all seven of them. So there was no need to say that something was happening, that something was wrong, because what was wrong? That Shiro was tired? But of course he was, he's been through a lot!

So for now, Lance decided to be his rock, he himself, without burdening anyone. That'd surely be for the best.

Someday he'd tell others, he decided, and then they'd say, 'Good job, Lance!' and that'd be after all Shiro's worries turned out to be unfounded, and everyone would laugh until tears for thinking that some headaches and fatigue could even be a problem, when there was so much more serious stuff all around.

Lance couldn't wait for that day. That day would come, surely, if Shiro was right to put trust in Lance, after all. It would, wouldn't it?

Lance seriously couldn't wait. And such a day would just speak to the stregth of their bond, and would say how much Lance could be trusted to fix all this. Let him have it...

That's why he didn't tell others, for now. Awaiting such a day.

*******

Other days came, but that day, such a day, never did.

 _My fault,_ Lance would think, later. _Maybe it could've come, if I shared the responsibility with others. Maybe it would--- maybe I stole it._

*****

But that was in the future, and for now, Lance didn't know it, at that moment. At that moment, being very much, truly trusted, by Shiro even, it felt wonderful. A great feeling, boosting one's self confidence, and the bond.

It had to be real... or it would be terrifying, and too dark. Wouldn't it?

******

Many days later, Lance would think, would be sure, that he let Shiro down, that he let Keith down, that he let Allura down, that he let them all down. And if somebody was to tell him that was a lie, well, what did they know??? They weren't there when he stole the future by keeping it all to himself with no understanding!!

****

Much later, Lance would maybe realise that he slightly misunderstood the misunderstanding. That the fault maybe didn't lie squarely on Lance's own shoulders.

Much later, but not then.

******

It was great to be trusted. He couldn't fix things, but maybe Shiro could. And so, he left some things untold. Who could fix them, if not Shiro? Shiro could do anything. Just ask others.

*********

And if Shiro couldn't, surely he'd ask Keith or others.

*********

So there was no problem.

*******

That was before. And how much fault was his? He never got the answer. Not truly. Because for a true answer, he'd have to get it from someone who was there, both times, and the only person left for that... was Lance himself. He'd have to get an answer from himself. And that was difficult.

***********

Feeling trusted, back then, that felt much easier, and nobler, and so amazing. That's why, back then... maybe Lance didn't say enough.

***********

Now, running in his mind over a billion things he might've said, but never did, to Shiro, and later to that Shiro. Would those words, unsaid, have helped if they were said? Did those words exist?

**************

Lance wonders what Shiro would do, but this is about Shiro, so, how to ask? He will ask Shiro... later. Because instincts were wrong in suggestimg that there was something unshiroish about Shiro nowadays.

************

And also, Lance wonders what Alfor would do, stranger that he was, that hologram would've been handy, if it still existed, Lance would ask it, later. Or not. That stupid Alfor memory hologram once destroyed everything Alfor loved, right, or what? So it wasn't as if it was real Alfor. His instincts told him that real Alfor would never have endangered Allura like that memory hologram back then did, so that had to be true. Lance always trusted his own instincts.

************

Until today.

*****

Lance wasn't some Champion, or champion's little but also handsome brother, or some Genius like Pidge, or best people person like Hunk, or one of the beautiful Chosen Ones. Would never be, he thought at the moment.

So what could he do or say?

*********

Lance had no idea. And that was the thing, exactly. That was his fault, wasn't it?? Wasn't it?

He didn't know.

*******

But everything will be fine, he thought back then, once Keith returns, because Shiro surely must be real, no matter how not himself Shiro might feel due to some dizziness or whatever. Just some silly fears, that will be over when Keith is back. Because Shiro will never endanger Keith, for sure, instincts be damned.

That's why Shiro, both times (same Shiro, instincts be damned) told Lance, not Keith, right? Could space call Keith after all. But nope, maybe it was some danger or whatever, so maybe, Lance mused, Shiro, of course, would rather put potential danger on Lance's shoulders, not Keith's.

Good, very good, he would manage, he would show him!

Now, how to fix Shiro's maybe dangerous headaches? Uuhhhh.... herbs??? So an hour later, without telling Hunk why exactly, Lance with Hunk's help made Shiro some herbs for simple headaches. Shiro was most grateful and Lance felt good, and proud of himself, and shoved all own stupid instincts away.

********

Lance barely knew what to believe anymore, back then. And who to ask, without letting everyone down. Couldn't he manage this situation by himself? Since he was finally trusted.

He tried.

******

And failed. Let them down, he felt.


End file.
